Antalya

Introduction

Duden Waterfall, Antalya, Turkey

Antalya is located on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey and is the capital city of Antalya province. Nestled between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, it has an irregular coastline dotted with cliffs and waterfalls resulting in stunning landscape and awe inspiring natural beauty.

Antalya’s central location on the Turkish Riviera coupled with the easy availability of hotels, lodges, clubs, bar and restaurants have transformed it into a major international resort town. The region, blessed with more than 300 days of sunshine in a year, is a paradise for sunbathing, swimming and sports activities like sailing, wind surfing, water skiing, rafting and mountain climbing.

History

Antalya is believed to have been founded by King Attalos of Pergamum in around 150 BC. Antalya became part of the Roman Empire in 133 BC when King Attalos willed his kingdom to the Romans on his death. The city became a prosperous centre in the Ancient Roman Empire. Subsequently the city was occupied by the Byzantines and the Seljuks before it came under the Ottoman Rule and continued so until the creation of Turkish Republic in 1923.

Sights and Activities

Some of the important sites of tourist importance in the city are:

Kaleici with its narrow cobbled street of old Turkish and Greek houses, is the centre of old Antalya. This has been now restored with hotels, clubs, bars, restaurants, but it retains much of its historical character. The award winning Antalya Kaleici Marina is considered one of the loveliest in Turkey with its many souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants as well as yacht services.

Hadrian’s Gate was constructed by the Romans in second century AD in honour of Emperor Hadrian, when he visited the city. It was the only entrance through the city walls at that time.

Konyaalti Beach is a long pebbled beach at the edge of the city and offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountain ranges.

Yivli Minare (Fluted Minaret) was built by Seljuks and was beautifully decorated with blue tiles. This minaret eventually has become the symbol of the city.

Kesik Minare (Broken Minaret) was once a Byzantine era church and was later converted into a mosque.

Archeological Museum with artifacts from the Paleolithic Age to Ottoman times offers a glimpse of the area’s rich cultural history and is worth a visit.

Events and Festivals

In summer there are several (free) concerts and music festivals in Antalya, that mostly take place in the park around the Glass Pyramid (Cam Piramit) in Meltem. They don't always advertise them, so when you are in the area just keep your eyes and ears open.You can check some of them at Antalya Festivals.

Weather

Antalya is shielded from the cold northerly winds by the Taurus mountain ranges which run parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. This results in Antalya having a typical Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and moderately warm and rainy winters. The region receives almost 300 days of sunshine and the air temperatures can sometimes reach as high as 40 °C in July and August. Normally it's a more bearable 30 °C-35 °C though and winters see temperatures mostly between 15 °C and 22 °C.

Getting There

By Plane

Antalya Airport (AYT) is located around 10 kilometres from the city centre. This airport handles both domestic and international flights. Antalya is well connected with other parts of Turkey by domestic flights and it is also directly connected with many cities in Europe and the Middle East. There is no public transport from the airport to the city centre, so taxis can be hired or pre-booked for the same. There is also an Airport Shuttle service operated by Havas, which drops passengers in the city centre and charges YTL10 for the same.

By Train

Antalya is still not connected by rail services. However tourists can travel by train upto Denizli or Konya and from there lots of buses are available to Antalya which cover the distance in around 4 hours. It is worth mentioning here that the overnight Pamukkale express from Istanbul to Denizli has been stopped due to some engineering work and it is not expected to resume normal services anytime in 2009.

By Bus

Bus service is excellent in Turkey. Istanbul-Antalya is one of the busiest routes and lots of buses are available on this route. There are overnight buses and day time buses and most of them take around 12-14 hours. Antalya is also well connected to other cities of Turkey and bus is the only option while visiting the smaller Mediterranean resort towns in the Antalya region. Two of the well known and most reputed bus companies operating in Turkey are Varan and Ulusoy.

Getting Around

Plenty of taxis are available to explore the city. It is better to bargain for the best rates before boarding any vehicle as the rates vary according to the tourist season.

By Public Transport

Buses are available, but you have to be sure of the route before boarding any bus. There is a tram line also which runs from Antalya Museum and passing along the old city centre, Hadrian’s Gate terminates at Talya Oteli. Trams usually depart every 30 minutes and one way fare is YTL1.2.

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafes can be found everywhere except small rural villages. The cost of an hour use of internet ranges from 1 YTL to 1.5 YTL. Wireless internet is becoming popular in some cafes in big cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, and at airpots. But in many other places it's still not available, or sometimes at a very high cost.

Phone

Turkey's international country code is 90. Dial 112 for an ambulance anywhere, from any telephone, without a charge. In case of a fire, dial 110; for police, call 155. However, in rural areas there is not a police coverage, so dial 156 for gendarme, a military unit for rural security. All these numbers are free of charge and can be called from a telephone booth without inserting a calling card, or any phone including cell phones.

There are telephone booths owned by Turk Telekom in major parts of cities. public phones now operate with chip telekom cards which are available in 30, 60 or 120 units and can be obtained at post offices, newspaper and tobacco kiosks.It is estimated that approximately 98% of the population of Turkey lives within the coverage areas of Turkey’s three cell phone line providers. Line providers from most countries have roaming agreements with one or more of these companies. Pre-paid mobile phone SIM cards can be purchased for approximately TRY20-50. These can be purchased at the airport on arrival or from the many outlets in Istanbul and other large cities. Providers include Vodaphone.

Post

PTT is the national post service in Turkey. Services are generally moderately fast but quite reliable. There is an extended price list on the PTT website, where you can see the costs of sending items within Turkey, countries in Europe and further afield. For sending packages one might also use international companies such as DHL and UPS and local companies such as Yurtici Kargo. Post offices bear the distinctive yellow PTT sign and are generally open between 9:00am to 12:00 noon and 1:30pm to 5:00pm from Monday to Friday. Some might keep longer hours or be open during the weekend as well, but this mainly applies to the larger ones or those in central places and tourist areas.